Bill Gates invests $80 million into Arizona smart city

The city is expected to be similar in size to the popular Tempe, Arizona.

A group owned by Microsoft magnate Bill Gates has invested $80 million into building a high-tech city in Belmont, Arizona.

Located just outside of Phoenix, the community will focus on self-driving vehicles, high-speed networks, data centers and new technology manufacturing, according to real estate attorney Grady Gammage.

The project is being led by Belmont Partners, an Arizona based investment group. It is unknown how involved Bill Gates will be in the project, which was discovered when the Arizona Republic found the purchase in property records.

The city is expected to be similar in size to the popular Tempe, Arizona, which has a population of 182,000, Belmont Partners said.

This announcement supports Arizona's history as a tech-testing state, where many leading tech companies have been testing their autonomous cars throughout the past years.

As the expansive plot of land is currently barren desert, it will be exciting to keep an eye on the city's development.

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